Big Ten Tournament: 12 Most Important Players to Keep an Eye On

It's hard to believe the Big Ten Tournament is already a little over a week away. It seemed like just recently, Ohio State was hoisting the trophy on the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor.

This year's tournament is wide open, as almost anyone outside of Penn State and Nebraska can win it. There's many teams—including Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota and Northwestern—that are on the bubble to get into the NCAA Tournament right now. Those four need some big wins in the tournament to keep their NCAA Tournament dreams alive.

Then there's Iowa, who's on a roll right now and beat Indiana and Wisconsin in less than a week's span.

Don't forget about the top five in the standings right now. Any of them can get on a roll and take this year's crown.

If any of these 12 teams are going to win it, these 12 guys are going to be the ones to watch to lead their teams to tournament success.

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

In order for Ohio State to rebound and bounce back into Big Ten Tournament contention, the Buckeyes need Jared Sullinger to regain his form from last season.

Sullinger has had a great season so far, leading the team in points (17.2) and rebounds per game (9.0). The problem is teams are keying in on him more, and he’s struggling a bit.

If Sullinger can dominate the post on offense and defense, the Buckeyes are a legitimate contender for the tournament crown again.

Draymond Green, Michigan State

Draymond Green has been the biggest surprise of this season. He was always a threat for the first-team All-Big Ten, but the favorite for Player of the Year was supposed to go to Jared Sullinger.

Michigan State wasn’t supposed to be this good this season. The Spartans are young, and many thought they would be a solid team, but in no way, shape or form did anyone expect them to contend for a title.

Credit Green for the Spartans' success.

He is by far the best leader in the Big Ten, as he’s taken this Michigan State team on his back and led them by himself.

Green averages 15.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. Both are team highs. He also averages 3.8 assists per game, which ranks high on this squad.

If Michigan State is going to take home the conference tournament crown, it will be because of Green.

John Shurna, Northwestern

John Shurna is on his way to being the best scorer in the Big Ten this season. Entering the last week of the season, Shurna leads the Big Ten with 20 points per game.

He not only leads his team in points, but he leads it in rebounding, with 5.6 per game.

Shurna became Northwestern’s career leading scorer this year and is poised to take the Wildcats to their first ever NCAA Tournament bid.

The Wildcats will go as far in the Big Ten tourney as Shurna leads them.

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin

Over the last few years, Jordan Taylor has been one of the best point guards in the Big Ten. His numbers are down this year compared to the past three years, but he’s still having a solid season.

Taylor is averaging 14.1 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. Both are team highs.

Wisconsin will have a shot at winning the tournament, and it will go through Taylor if it does. He is so good at defending the other team’s point guard and rarely turns the ball over on the offensive end.

Look for Taylor to come up huge next week.

Cody Zeller, Indiana

No player means more to a team than freshman Cody Zeller. Prior to Zeller, Indiana struggled to win games and had eight total Big Ten wins in three years combined.

Indiana really only added Zeller this year to last year’s team, and now the Hoosiers have won 10 league games and are a sure threat to win the tournament.

The Hoosiers rely heavily on Zeller, as he’s the team's leading scorer with 15 points per game, and he’s also the leading rebounder, bringing down 6.6 boards per game.

What makes him scary is he’s improved every game this year and hasn't found ways to stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court.

I think Indiana is a sleeper to take the conference tournament crown and make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Aaron Craft may have became the best point guard in the Big Ten this year. He’s a strong defender and always finds the right guy to pass it to.

He prides himself on strong defending and makes others around him better. Craft hasn’t disappointed this year, averaging a team-high 4.6 assists per contest.

Another thing Craft does well is getting to the hole. He’s a silent scorer and can hurt teams if left unattended.

All tournaments are won due to guard play, and if Craft can prove that he’s the best point guard, then Ohio State will be on the podium Sunday afternoon.

William Buford, Ohio State

William Buford is another reason why Ohio State can win the Big Ten Tournament. Buford is, in my mind, the best all-around player on the Buckeyes, but the senior gets no attention.

He could become the Ohio State all-time leading scorer still with some big games in the Big Ten and NCAA tourneys.

Buford averages 15.1 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and three assists per game. He shoots lights-out if teams leave him open and can change the whole dynamic of a game by himself.

Ohio State needs Buford to come up huge next week in order to win.

Trey Burke, Michigan

Trey Burke is rivaling Aaron Craft for best point guard in the conference right now. If it wasn’t for Burke, Michigan would not been this good or this high in the conference standings.

Tim Hardaway Jr. has had a disappointing sophomore season, but Burke has stepped up to lead the Wolverines.

Burke is averaging a league-high 4.8 assists per game to go along with his team-high 14.3 points per game.

If it wasn’t for fellow freshman Cody Zeller, Burke would be a shoo-in for Freshman of the Year in the conference.

Michigan has a good chance to win the tournament and will ride on Burke's skills.

Christian Watford, Indiana

There’s no player outside of Cody Zeller on Indiana's roster that has as big of an impact as Christian Watford.

Watford obviously hit the key shot against Kentucky and is the biggest key when Indiana plays well.

When Watford shoots badly, he gets his head down, and Indiana struggles. When Watford is on his game, Indiana doesn’t lose.

What makes Watford so important is his size and ball-handling skills. Teams struggle to find a big man that can guard Watford outside of the lane, and when they try, Watford drives around them.

If Watford is hitting his shots, his pull-up jumper is the difference due to his ability to penetrate. That leads to open looks for Zeller, as the other big man must help on Watford.

If Watford is shooting to his caliber and playing at a high level, Indiana will win the Big Ten Tourney.

Robbie Hummel, Purdue

Purdue is strictly a Robbie Hummel team. If it wasn’t for Hummel, the Boilers would be downright terrible this season.

Everything Purdue lacks, Hummel can make up for it.

Purdue lost its best two players from last year to graduation and the NBA, and Hummel, who’s coming off of two knee injuries, is leading the team back.

Hummel is leading the team in scoring and rebounding, with 16.5 points and 6.9 boards per game.

I don’t think Purdue has a shot at winning the conference tournament, but it will have a shot at getting there. It all depends on how well Hummel is playing.

Meyers Leonard, Illinois

Meyers Leonard didn’t make my preseason list of impact players, but he’s improved so much between last year and this season that he’s a definite on this list.

Leonard wasn’t looked upon to score much last year. I don’t know what happened over the summer, but he’s figured it out.

Leonard leads the Illini with 7.9 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game. The seven-footer is the reason Illinois can be a hard out in the Big Ten Tournament.

When Leonard wants to be a force, he is. He’s dominant and is a hard guy to stop due to his size.

The only problem with Leonard is he’s immature. When things are going his way, his head gets down, and he becomes a problem.

That’s the big reason for Illinois’ up-and-down conference season, and it's why the Illini are on the bubble.

If Leonard can put together a good stretch of games in the conference tourney, Illinois can play its way into the NCAA's.

Drew Crawford, Northwestern

Drew Crawford is another player that’s silently dominating. Crawford was the league’s second-leading scorer behind his teammate John Shurna at one point, but he’s dipped a bit to 16.2 points per game.

If Crawford’s ability to get to the rim is on, and his shot-making ability is where it should be, teams will struggle to defend both him and Shurna, and the Wildcats will be a tough team to beat.

Shurna is such a good scorer that demands attention from other teams. If both options are on, watch out.